Oct. 27, 2011

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Senior Drew Viney has been named Preseason All-West Coast Conference for the 2011-12 season, the conference announced at the 2011 WCC Basketball Tip-off Event at the YouTube Headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., on Thursday.

The fifth-year senior was also a preseason All-WCC selection a year ago and is coming off back-to-back season earning All-WCC honors, claiming first-team in 2009-10 and honorable mention in 2010-11.

Viney was one of 10 players chosen in this season's preseason poll, which for the first time include newcomer BYU. The Lions as a team were picked to finish sixth in the conference.

Viney will enter his third and final season at LMU after finishing second in the league in scoring at 17.2 points per game and fifth in rebounds at 6.6. He was the only player in the league that was in the top-five in scoring and rebounding.

After battling through injuries throughout 2010-11 (he missed five games), he finished his junior season on a tear. Viney went for more than 20 points in five straight games at the end of the season and added a 18-point, 10-rebound double-double in the final game of the season. He would finish those final six games averaging 21.5 points per game with two double-doubles, including a 30-point, 11-rebound performance against Santa Clara.

He enters his senior season with 999 career points and will look to become just the 14 Lion in program history to claim All-WCC honors three times in their career. Only one player, Forrest McKenzie, did it four times. His senior season will be delayed until around the first part of December as he recovers from foot surgery.

Three-Time All-WCC Selections
Matthew Knight (2004-05, 05-06, 06-07)
Terrell Lowery (1989-90, 90-91, 91-92)
Hank Gathers (1987-88, 88-89, 89-90)
Bo Kimble (1987-88, 88-89, 89-90)
Mike Yoest (1985-86, 86-87, 87-88)
Keith Smith (1983-84, 84-85 85-86)
Forrest McKenzie (1981-82, 82-83, 83-84, 85-86)
Jim Haderlein (1968-69, 69-70, 70-71)
Richard Dixon (1968-69, 69-70, 70-71)
Rick Adelman (1965-66, 66-67, 67-68)
Dick Schiendler (1962-63, 63-64, 64-65)
Ed Bento (1959-60, 60-61, 61-62)
Jerry Grote (1959-60, 60-61, 61-62)

2011-12 WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Team (First Place Votes) - Points
1. Gonzaga University (7) - 63
2. Saint Mary's College (1) - 56
3. Brigham Young University (1) - 52
4. University of San Francisco - 42
5. Santa Clara University - 35
6. Loyola Marymount University - 27
7. University of Portland - 25
8. Pepperdine University - 13
9. University of San Diego - 11

2011-12 PRESEASON ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE TEAM
Player - School (Yr., Pos.)
Brandon Davies - BYU (Jr., F)
Matthew Dellavedova - Saint Mary's (Jr., G)
Kevin Foster - Santa Clara (RS-Jr., G)
Rashad Green - San Francisco (Sr., G)
Elias Harris - Gonzaga (Jr., F)
Rob Jones - Saint Mary's (RS-Sr., F)
Nemanja Mitrovic - Portland (Sr., G)
Robert Sacre - Gonzaga (RS-Sr., C)
Drew Viney - Loyola Marymount (RS-Sr., F)
Michael Williams - San Francisco (Jr., G)